LEAMINGTON SPA, ENGLAND - JULY 29: Damien Delgado of Team Australia competes during the Para Men's Pairs Lawn Bowls Round One match between Team Australia and Team New Zealand on Day 1 of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on day one of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Victoria Park on July 29, 2022 on the Leamington Spa, England. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

2022 Commonwealth Games: Day 1 wrap

by Lachlan Williams on July 30, 2022

The Australian Jackaroos have made a solid start to their 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign at Leamington Spa, with all teams in the mix to progress to the knockout stages.

The first day of play saw women’s singles, men’s triples, men’s pairs, women’s fours, para men’s pairs and para women’s pairs formats compete.

The Aussies finished with seven wins, two draws and two losses across the formats on Friday.

Check out how each discipline fared below.

Women’s Singles

Ellen Ryan enjoyed a mixed bag of results to begin her Commonwealth Games career, with a win and a loss from her two matches.

Taking on Kenya’s Eunice Wambui Mbugua in her debut game, Ryan led 7-3 before Mbugua stormed back to level things at seven apiece.

The 24-year-old showed composure, going on to record her maiden Games victory with a 14-0 run, winning 21-7.

Things didn’t work out quite as smoothly in her second match, with a rampant Lucy Beere (Guernsey) storming to a 21-11 win.

Beere rarely gave Ryan a look, leading for the entirety of the contest.

Ryan will face off against Canada’s Jordan Kos on Saturday morning, with a win important to securing her spot in the quarter finals.

R1: def Eunice Wambui Mbugua (Kenya) 21-7

R2: def by Lucy Beere (Guernsey) 11-21

Men’s Pairs

Aaron Wilson and Corey Wedlock were dominant in their opening clash at Leamington Spa, accounting for Guernsey in style.

The duo dropped just two shots after the fifth end, romping in a 29-7 victory to celebrate ‘Disco’ Wilson’s 200th cap for the Jackaroos.

The second contest against Fiji was nearly the complete inverse of the first round.

The Fijians ran rampant on their way to a 14-0 lead, before the Jackaroos could fire back.

Shots were in high demand, with Fiji claiming a crucial 27-16 win over Australia.

R1: def Guernsey 29-7

R2: def by Fiji 16-27

Men’s Triples

Things could not have gone much better for the men’s triples team of Barrie Lester, Carl Healey and Ben Twist on the first day of play.

Starting their campaign against Niue, with Healey and Twist making their Games debuts, they showed no nerves to claim a 29-7 win, scoring the first 19 shots of the match.

Twist celebrated his 100th Australian cap with the win.

The Jackaroos got the better of the Cook Islands in a high-scoring affair in their second match, winning 25-15 despite dropping the final three ends of the match.

The victories place the Jackaroos atop their group, with a tantalising contest against fellow unbeaten side Jersey at 8.30am local time on Saturday.

R1: def Niue 29-7

R2: def Cook Islands 25-15

Women’s Fours

After a somewhat rocky start, Australia has started its women’s fours gold medal defence is under way.

The Jackaroos had to settle for a draw against a determined Botswana side in their opening game.

The African side took it up to the Australians, leading at one point during the match and ensuring they kept themselves in with a chance.

Botswana failed to score on ends 12, 13 and 14, but saved their best for last. Trailing by five shots with one end to play, they were able to manufacture a five and level the match at 15-15 with their final bowl.

The Australian side bounced back in their second match against Fiji, but had to grind away at their opponents.

Jumping out of the blocks to lead 4-0 after three ends, the Fijians took the lead after scoring a five, a theme the Aussies will look to put a stop to.

Australia regained the lead, but it wasn’t until the second-to-last end they were able to breathe a sigh of relief, leading by seven shots heading into the final end, going on to win 16-10.

R1: drew with Botswana 15-15

R2: def Fiji 16-10

Para Men’s Pairs

Damien Delgado and Chris Flavel kickstarted their campaign with a 10-shot win over Trans Tasman rivals New Zealand.

In a back and forth contest, the Jackaroo duo worked their way on top to finish in front, a crucial victory in round robin play.

An enthralling contest against South Africa followed two sessions later, finishing in a 12-12 draw.

South Africa never trailed in the encounter, but the Australians were able to keep touch, falling as far back as six shots at the halfway mark of the match, but never more.

The Australians head into the second day of play in second spot, with crucial contests against England and Wales tomorrow.

R1: def New Zealand 17-7

R2: def South Africa 12-12

Para Women’s Pairs

It was a fight to remember for Cheryl Lindfield and Serena Bonnell in their opening clash against Scotland.

With five lead changes and scores level twice, the match was a true seesawing affair. Scoring a two on the penultimate end proved crucial, with the Australians moving two shots ahead.

Scotland was only able to claw one shot back on the final end, handing the Jackaroos a memorable victory in their Games debuts.

R1: def Scotland 16-15